A Wizards Fury
by Dispatchking1
Summary: What if Lilly Potter hadn't been just another muggle born witch? What if she had been from Westeros? With three younger brothers there, and what if she had spent the last twelve years watching her son be mistreated from the hall of the dead. Here is the tale of how Lillian Baratheon changed her son's life, and the course of events both on earth and in Westeros forever.
1. Chapter 1

This is my first attempt at writing fan fiction, this is also a story concept I have had bouncing around in my head for quite a while.

"" dialogue.

'' Thoughts.

Chapter One, Beginnings.

The Dursleys, of Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging Surrey England were proud to say they were quite normal thank you very much. However, in the smallest bedroom of the second floor of that boring cookie-cutter home, lay a young boy of thirteen years who was decidedly not normal. Much to his relatives chagrin. The young man tossing around in the broken bed in the smallest bedroom of Number Four was Harry Potter, and Harry Potter was a wizard, among other things that we will get to later. Harry Potter had just completed his third year of study at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and had returned to the dubious care of his unloving relatives for the summer holiday before the beginning of his fourth year of schooling. Here at Number Four, Harry is expected to do all the lawn work, cook all the meals, and do all the cleaning, unless it was related to a valuable item, in which case his upright horse of an Aunt would chase him off, not trusting him with anything valuable that he could break with his "Freakishness" as they referred to his most remarkable of abilities. Harry had been with his relatives for just shy of three weeks when he fell ill. Harry had been sick now for almost two weeks, and his relatives had yet to think any more of it then that he was just being lazy. Of course that wasn't what was happening, not that they really cared. Harry Potter was small for his age, appearing to be no more then a lad of eleven, not a boy of thirteen. Twelve years of neglect and malnutrition had caused the boy to be small for his age and had weekend his immune system, which is why what had started as a summer cold has now become pneumonia of the vilest kind. Harry is a boy with a generally kind disposition, with uncontrollable raven black hair, and eyes that shine an ephemeral green, of course, the boy was currently sleeping fitfully, so you can't see those eyes at the moment. As the boy struggled to sleep in his bed, in the smallest bedroom of Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging Surrey, our story truly begins.

Lilly Potter, had had quite enough of her only sons treatment at the hands of her supposed sister and her walrus of a husband. She had spend the last twelve years at the side of the Stranger, watching and watching as her son was mistreated by those meant to love him, knowing that she couldn't do anything. But now she had had enough. Lilly decided right then and there, consequences be damned, she would try to do something for her son, she had more family then just the Foster Sister she barley knew, she had Brothers in the land she was born, and if HE would agree she could send her son to them. James wouldn't like it of course, but he wasn't there was he? James being from earth, and her being from Planetos meant that even though they were married they still went to separate afterlives, as different gods held claims to their souls. She looked up to the head of the table, towards where the Stranger, the god of Death in her home pantheon sat, observing the souls in his hall. The Stranger appeared to be a man, in a black robe, with the hood up hiding his face, sure, she couldn't gauge his mood since she couldn't see his face, but she decided to risk it. Getting up from her seat, she walked towards his place at the head of the table and knelt at his right hand. "My Lord, I would ask a boon, if you would let me" Lilly said, clutching at the robed arm of the deity on the throne like chair. "I had wondered when thou wouldst stop gnawing on thine own liver in consternation of thy child's situation Lillian. Speak my child, what boon would you ask of Death and Magic?" The Stranger asked. "I would move my son from where he is, I would send Harry to my brothers." Lilly responded, confident now that she knew the god was expecting her request. "Wouldst thou move the Boy to a land he has never heard of without any warning? What of thy brothers also, thou hast not spoken with even a one of them since thy departure from thy fathers castle, surely thou wouldst not thrust and orphan upon them with no warning or for knowledge of his parentage or situation." The Stranger said, a hint of amusement in his voice. Surprised at his tone, Lilly responded "I would go first to my son, and explain the situation, then my brothers and explain to them as well." "And how long wouldst thou have thy son with thy brothers? While his upbringing in Westeros would be better then in his father's land, his life will be no easier, all thou wouldst do is simply add a second destiny to his existing one. Thy child is preordained to be a hero, to spend his life toiling for the safety of others, even at risk of his own life and limb, dost thou understand this my child?" The Stranger responded, attempting to ensure the grieving mother understood just what she was asking for. " I understand my Lord, I knew when I first held him that he was destined for great things, but I'm afraid for his survival if he continues where he is. I have no wish to be reunited with him in your hall before his time." Lilly responded, trying to convey her understanding to the strangely gentle death god. "very well. If thou dost understand as thou say, I will give you this night to see what can be done, my siblings and I have long considered this before. Knowing a mother can only watch their child suffer for so long." The Stranger replied. "See unto the boy last my child, I and one of my Elder Brothers will accompany thee when thou approach the boy, we shall use this time, to cease the disquiet among the men of Westeros concerning the trivialities of religion. There is only one set of gods, even though some of us have taken titles, and watched over the Andals before their arrival." bursting with joy at the gods permission to help her son, Lilly rose to her feet. "I'll go to my brothers first Master. Thank you." she said, kissing his hand. As Lilly turned to leave however, she heard the god call after her "it would be prudent, I think, to visit one of the boy's instructors as well, so they would know where he had gone." "I know, I'll go to Severus, I'm tired of watching him wallow in self loathing anyway." she said with a smile. With that, Lilly Potter, born Lillian Baratheon, eldest child and only daughter of Steffon Barathon and Cassanna Eastermont, walked from the hall, already considering what she was going to say to her brothers.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Meetings and Explanations.

-Royal Chambers, Meagor's Holdfast, Kings Landing, Crownlands, Westeros.

Robert Baratheon, First of his Name, King of the Andals, The First Men, and the Rhoynar, was uneasy. This wasn't something he was used to. Angry, lusty, murderous, all of those were things he was used to, but uneasy was not one of them. He felt like something was coming, and that it was going to change his life, and the lives of many others, and he couldn't figure out why. 'Was there a war coming?' He knew, of course, that old Quellion Greyjoy had finally died, and that his son Balon was now lord of Pyke, and that Balon had been building ships. Varys was good enough at his job to get that much information anyway. That didn't account for this feeling though, it was almost like the feeling he had when the storm that sank his parent's ship had kicked up in Ship Breaker Bay when he was a boy. "I'm starting to sound like an old woman" Robert groused at himself, reaching for his goblet of Arbor Gold and taking a long drink, Robert turned his thoughts to happier things, imagining himself standing over the Last Dragon, Rhaegar Targaryen, remembering how it felt, to stand over the Silver Prince, his war hammer in hand, and to bring it back to deal the killing blow. Just as Robert was going to kill him again for the nth time in his mind, there was a knocking at the door. "What do you want Barriston?" Robert yelled, angry at the interruption to his daydreaming. "Lord Stannis is here, Your Grace, he says it's important." The voice of the old Lord Commander of the Kingsgaurd came back, from his place guarding the door to the king's private chamber. "Fine! Send him in" Robert ordered. The door opened, admitting a man of early middle years, of average height, with stormy blue eyes, thinning black hair and a permanent scowl on his face. Stannis Baratheon, The Master of Ships, and Lord of Dragonstone walked into his brother's private chambers and sat down right in front of the King's Desk without waiting to be invited. "What do you want Stannis?" Robert asked his younger brother. It was no secret that the King and his brothers didn't get along, they hadn't since their older sister disappeared. Robert and Lillian had fought over some trivial thing and the next morning she was gone. Stannis had never forgiven Robert for that. Stannis still hadn't forgiven Robert for giving Storms End to Renly either. "The Greyjoys are building more ships, Robert," Stannis said, in his low gravely voice. "I know that. Varys told me earlier. That still doesn't tell me what you want though." Robert said. "I need your permission to build more ships, the Royal fleet isn't large enough to contend with the Iron Fleet in open water. And we don't know why they're building more ships. I want to be prepared for the inevitability that they start raiding again." Stannis responded. "Fine! You have it. Talk to Bealish to get the coin, anything else?" "No," Stannis said. "Then you have my permission to" Robert didn't get a chance to finish that statement, as a voice feminine voice interrupted him. "Hello Robert, Hello Stannis." the voice said, it was strange, it was a woman's voice, and Robert both didn't recognize the voice, but still thought it was familiar. "Who's there?" Stannis demanded., getting to his feet, his hand going to the dagger at his belt.

"Don't you recognize my voice Stannis? You heard it enough as a boy." the woman said, stepping out of the shadows. She was tall for a woman, with fiery red hair, the same shade as his mother's, Robert noticed. She was beautiful, with a figure that most women would kill for. Her face was familiar to him, but he couldn't place it. "What about you Robert? Recognize me yet?" the woman said. Then it struck him. Like a glacier running down his spine when he saw her eyes. They were green. A stormy green the same shade as an emerald. He recognized those eyes, they were in both his nightmares and some of his sweetest memories. " Lillian?" Robert exclaimed, as the blood drained from his face, and he found himself stone cold sober for the first time since he broke his fast that morning. "now you're getting the picture, Dear brother," Lillian said, walking a little further away from the wall. "Sit back down Stannis, I don't have a whole lot of time and I have a lot I need to say to the both of you." she said, taking the other seat across the desk from Robert. "What do you mean you don't have a lot of time, and how did you get in here?" Robert asked, shocked that the sister he hadn't seen in nearly twenty years was suddenly sitting before him.

"The Dead aren't allowed to visit the living, under normal circumstances that is, and when they do they can't dawdle." "Dead? What do you mean dead!" Robert demanded. "Look at her Robert, look at her closely." Stannis said, saying anything for the first time since Lillian had sat down. And he looked, looked at her face, which was pale, unnaturally so. And if he looked at her too long he thought he could see straight through her. "Gods, what happened to you, Lillian?" "a great many things Robert, a great many things indeed, and I'll tell you both all of it because I need your help" Robert sat back in his chair at that, their sister, their protector, and peacemaker. She was their fathers darling, yet she was also their primary caregiver. One thing both he and Stannis had in common if nothing else was the love they held for this fiery woman they both believed they had lost because of his stupidity over an argument he couldn't even remember the cause of. But he could remember what he had said as a boy of ten name days to cause her to flee in a storm of weeping. "I hate you, I wish you had never been born" he had said, that was the first time he had heard her cry, and then she had fled. And she was gone by morning. "what can we do Lilly?" he asked, using a nickname their father had given her when they were children. "to answer that, I need to explain the situation to you both. That day when we fought Robert, both the Septon of the Starry Sept and the Green Man of the Ilse of Faces had visited father, concerning me. It seems I had been born with magic" Robert and Stannis both flinched a little at that. Magic was feared in Westeros. Magic was something of blood and death, of courting demons and burning people alive. Something of human sacrifice and child murder. Moreover, magic was something that was an immediate death sentence from the faith if you were discovered. "What did they want?" Stannis asked, leaning back in his chair, his face was almost as pale as Lilly's. "To tell Father I had to go for training. This wasn't the magic of the Essosi. This was the magic of Life, Magic that is inherent in some people, this was a gift from the Gods, something that crops up in our people from time to time, the Septon told father that Hugor of the Hill held this power, and the Green Man told him that Durrin Godsgreif did as well. But that there wasn't anyone on this world who could train me in the use of this magic, as magic had become a corrupted thing here. They told him that I had to go to another place, another world." Roberts eyes widened at that, "What do you mean another world?" Robert demanded, astonished that not only was such a thing possible but that his sister, was claiming to have done so. "A place where magic was still practiced, where people still taught others like them how to use this skill, where entire families could use magic. They told me I would have to use an assumed name, as some of the people there were descended from other Andal wizards or witches that had left Westeros and found spouses for themselves in that other world. Which is what I did." Robert and Stannis both looked up at that. "Oh yes, if I hadn't I would have been there with you during your rebellion, but I Married, but ill get to my husband in a moment. Around the time I finished my education, war was breaking out among the wizards. One wizard was attempting to seize control of the world, and he was exterminating any witch or wizard he could find who wasn't from an established magical bloodline. My husband, James Potter was his name. Anyway, My husband and I fought him three times and three times we prevailed. But a prophecy was issued, stating that the child of those who had thrice defied him, would have the power to vanquish him for once and for all. That information found its way to him, and a family friend of my husbands family, our schoolmaster, Albus Dumbledore, sent us into hiding." Robert could see where this was going now. " but this evil wizard found you, you and your husband didn't he?" Robert asked, his heart sinking. "He did, twelve years ago, he came upon our house, killing my husband and me, but not my fifteen-month-old son. We named him Henry, after James' grandfather. But we gave him my surname in the light of the seven." Lilly said as she straightened in her chair. She looked at both her brothers, conveying to them with her eyes alone that she was about to come to the point of this late night visit to the king's chambers. "for twelve years I have watched as people meant to protect my son mistreated him. I have watched from the house of the dead as he has been starved, beaten, and used for a slave. I have watched as he was forced to play the fool simply because his caretakers lump of a son was stupid, and more recently, I have watched as the servants of the dark wizard who orphaned him, and the dark wizard himself as a shade, have been attempting to kill my little Harry before he has the skills or a chance to defend himself."

Her voice had risen steadily through her last statement, by the end of it, she was shouting. The sound of a third voice, a woman's voice would not have normally caused Ser Barriston to charge in, but the fact that she was not in there when he admitted Stannis through up a red flag. So, ever the dutiful Knight of the Kingsgaurd, Ser Barriston 'The Bold" Selmy came charging through the door of the King chambers, sword in hand. " You can put that away Barriston, it wouldn't do you any good anyway," Robert told his guard with a laugh. "It's just my siblings and I, you remember Lillian, don't you Barriston?" Robert said, pointing a visibly trembling hand towards where Lilly was seated. "My Lady, I had thought, as I'm sure your brothers did as well, that you were dead." "I am dead Barriston," Lilly said with a small chuckle. "I am here to ask a boon of my brothers, but I can see where you could assist in this. Stay Ser Knight, and bear witness to my request, as I believe you should have a part in this." Lilly said, turning her attention back to her brothers.

"Here is what I need from you Gentlemen. I have arranged with The Stranger, Henry will be able to come to Westeros, and he shall have a period of Ten Years to train here and to spend that time with his family here. Then he will return to the land of his father, and there he will remain until the evil that ended us is dealt with. After that, he will return here. A time is coming when an evil from the distant past will walk the North again. The Wall will be pressed, and magic and steel will race to fight Ice with Fire." Once again, Robert, in a rare moment of insight, could see what she was asking. "You want us to take in your son, don't you?" "Yes, I want you to take him in. I want you to train him, squire him to a knight you trust, train him to lead, to organize armies and deploy his troops. But I want you to teach him love as well. My harry hasn't had nearly enough of that in his thirteen years, I know neither of you is as loving as men as you were as boys, but my son needs his uncles." Robert and Stannis exchanged a look at that. "Stannis, what do you think?" Robert asked his younger brother. "We have a duty to the boy Robert, but more then that, we both love our sister, and she has come to us from the house of the dead to ask us to raise her son, and to make a man of him. We only have one choice." Stannis said, his voice thick and eyes visibly tearing up in an uncharacteristic display of emotion. "And what choice is that?" Robert asked his usually stoic brother with a raised eyebrow. "Kings Landing, Dragonstone, or Storms End." Stannis said, with a completely straight face. "All three," Robert said. Lilly sighed at that, "Now that that's settled, I have to go, there are two more such meetings I need to have, one with a friend from school who is now one of his teachers, and the other with my son himself. The boy will be delivered to you here, in this room in five days." Lilly said, getting up and preparing to leave. "You haven't even told us what he looks like Lilly!" Robert exclaimed. "He looks like a true Baratheon, but he has my eyes, our Mothers eyes," she responded, even as she blended back into the shadows.

Barriston didn't know what to think. He had just seen a ghost, seen the ghost of his kings sister. And now a boy from another world, the kings own nephew no less! was going to spend the next ten years at court. "Barriston, do you have a squire at the moment?" the King asked him. "No, Your Grace, as a matter of fact, I don't." " I think that's about to change." The King said, "Take the rest of the night off Barriston, when the Boy arrives and has a chance to settle in, you're going to see to his education, and when the measter is finished with him, I want you to take him on a tour of the Seven Kingdoms. So I suggest you prepare the schedule for the Kingsgaurd in such a way that the hole you will leave won't be too noticeable." "Yes, Your Grace" Barriston said, then he bowed and left. "Stannis, it seems we have some work to do, doesn't it." "it does indeed Robert, It does indeed." The two brothers spent the next several hours, simply sitting in silence, remembering the sister they both loved and had now clearly lost.

– Spinners End, Cockworth, Great Britten.

Severus Snape, as was his practice during the summer holiday, was brewing potions. This was the only real hobby the sallow-skinned and somber potions master had, it was his only real joy. Severus was a man of average height, with dark, almost black, eyes and a decided predisposition towards black robes of a flowing satin with tight sleeves to keep them out of his potions. On this evening he was brewing a Calming Drought, a simple potion that he knew so well he barely had to think about the process. Something he could do and simply shut his mind off, no thoughts of petulant snot nosed school children on this night. "I see some things never change." said a very familiar woman's voice from the shadows against the wall in his basement lab. "Lilly?" Severus said, so shocked at the appearance that he jumped, accidentally knocking the cauldron from its place atop the burner on his worktable, sending the half-finished potion splashing to the stone floor. "Damn!" Severus cursed, drawing his wand and banishing the offending fluid. "Yes, it's me Sev." Lilly Potter said, stepping into the light away from the wall. "We need to talk." she said. "How can you be here?" Severus demanded. 'she doesn't look like a ghost, the killing curse doesn't leave ghosts anyway.' he thought. "I'll get to that in a moment, first I want to thank you for what you have done in watching my son, whether he knows it or not, you have protected him. Thank you for that Sev." Lilly said, a smile brightening her face." I want you to know I forgive you, both for that vile name you called me back in school and for giving the information of the prophecy to Voldemort. You couldn't have known at the time that it was about us." she said. Severus was shocked. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought she would be here, never had he thought she was going to forgive him either. He figured she was in the care of her Gods, oh he knew, she told him when they were children of her land and her family, of the brothers she loved so dearly and the life she left behind to pursue her magical education. She had told him of the customs and what life was like in the Seven Kingdoms. He never imagined that her gods would let her come back, for any reason. "why are you here Lilly, I'm sure your gods wouldn't have let you come here just to tell me that." he said, sinking into the lone chair in his laboratory. "That isn't the only reason I'm here no." she said, coming further into the room and leaning against his work table, leveling him with a steady gaze that didn't portray any of the thought going through her mind. "I'm sure you know what Dumbledore did with Harry after James and me after we." she stopped, her voice breaking. "after you died." he finished for her. "yes, that." "He placed the boy with your foster sister. I can't say I know too much about his home life thought." he said, scratching his chin. "It isn't good Sev, they have neglected him at best and abused him at worse. The pure fact that he's lived this long is a testament to his ancestry. And to be quite frank I've had enough of watching my only son being abused and neglected and being left to deal with things that shouldn't be the problem of a child." Lilly said, starting to show her famous temper. "I'm moving him." she said, her eyes glinting expecting him to argue. "moving him where Lilly?" he asked, surely she wasn't going to do That!. "I've arranged with the Stranger, and I've spoken with my brothers. Harry is going to stay with my true siblings for a time. They have agreed to take him in, and see that he is made ready for what he will have to deal with, both here and in Westeros." Lilly said. Severus leaned back in his chair at that, it seemed that Lilly knew what her son was destined for. Good, that would solve that little problem. "Dumbledore isn't going to like that Lilly. He doesn't know about your origins, he just assumed, as was expected, that you were just another Muggle-born." Severs said, concerned about how the headmaster would respond when the monitoring spells he had on the boy's home just vanished. "That, my dear Sev, is where you come in. your going to explain things to him, my next stop after you is to visit Harry and let him know he is leaving, two of the Gods will be joining me for that visit. And I imagine they aren't going to leave anyone in that house with memories of the boy." she said. "That would defiantly put a bur in the old man's beard." Severus said with a dry chuckle at the idea of Dumbledore arriving at the Dursley home only to find no sign of the boy ever having lived there, with them having no memories of either the boy or his mother. "And that is why I need you to explain things to him. I expect when Harry returns he will be a very different person. He's going to get ten years to prepare in Westeros. I don't know what that's going to be like here though. The Gods have decreed that he will return to deal with Voldemort, whenever that is. So its entirely possible that his ten years in Westeros are going to take place in less time here then there." Lilly said, running a hand through her waist-length red hair. "It's important that you are with Dumbledore when his monitors fail, he can't be allowed to go rushing off to try and rescue Harry, I know he means well, but he tends to be a little brash when he has to improvise." Lilly said with a wry smile. "I'll make sure of it, even if I have to stun the old man to keep him from rushing off." Severus said, with unusual emotion in his voice, this was his best friend, the only woman he ever truly loved. " Is there anything else you want me to do?" he asked. "Yes, Harry won't be able to take his school things with him, I'll need you to collect those after we leave and you have dealt with Albus, I think they will allow him to bring his Owl, but nothing else. This is to be a fresh start for the boy. He likely won't use much of his magic over the next several years either." Lilly said, moving away from the desk and towards the shadows in the corner. "You best be off now, Dumbledore is in his office at the school, go now, ill be at Harry's home shortly." she practically spat the word 'home' like it was some kind of curse. "very well, good luck Lilly" Severus said, but she was already gone.

Severus Snape moved towards the door from his laboratory into the main part of his home. He went up the stairs, through the kitchen, and into the parlor. Once he was in the parlor he moved over to the shoulder-high fireplace that was a staple in most wizarding homes to allow for safer floo travel. He took a moment to look at the picture on the mantlepiece, it was a picture of a beautiful red-haired woman holding a newborn with messy raven wing black hair. It was the only picture on his mantle. Lilly had sent him that picture shortly after Harry was born, it was one of his most cherished possessions, even though up until today it had caused him pain, knowing that he had driven her away with his actions and that the child she held was the progeny of his worst enemy as a boy. Now it filled him with a new emotion, it filled him with a joy that drove him onwards, towards the task she had set him. With that thought, he reached towards the jar on the mantlepiece next to the picture. Taking out a handful of the power he threw it into the fireplace and clearly said "Hogwarts, headmasters office!"

\- Hogwarts, Headmasters office.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was sitting in his office, ostensibly reading some dusty tome of esoteric magic, when in reality he was using the weighty tome to hide this weeks edition of Witch Weekly from anyone who might walk into his office this evening. 'wouldn't do for them to know the esteemed headmaster had a subscription to what was admittedly, a teenage gossip rag. Just as he was getting to the end of an article listing the twenty most eligible bachelors of the Wizarding World, the buzzer on his floo that announced an incoming call went off. Closing his book, and magazine, Professor Dumbledore got up from his desk and crossed the room to the fireplace. "Yes?" he called, being careful to keep his waist-length beard in close to his body to keep it from being singed. "It's me Albus, may I come through? I need to talk to you." the voice of his Potions Master, Severus Snape came through the fireplace. "Certainly dear boy!'' Albus said, with a jovial tone, after all, it wasn't normal for Severus to call during the summer holidays. With a flash of green fire, Severus Snape glided out of the fireplace, is signature black satin robes billowing around his ankles. "How are you this evening my boy, Lemon Drop?" Albus asked, extending the bowl of lemon flavored candy to the dour Potions master. "I'm quite well Albus, and thank you, but no," Severus said, Taking a seat across from the headmaster. "What can I do for you this evening then Severus, as much as I enjoy your visits, you never come to my office just to enjoy my company," Dumbledore said, cutting right to the heart of the matter. "I'm here to warn you, Albus, your charms on Harry Potter are all about to fail, I'm also here to keep you from interfering with what is about to happen," Severus said, meeting the wizened educator's eyes."Before you start interrogating me or try to rush off to put a stop to what is about to happen, you need to know some things, things that will put what is about to happen, I beg you to sit and listen as I explain some things I have kept secret for nearly twenty years," Severus said, raising a hand in a placating gesture towards the old headmaster as he had half risen from his chair, no doubt in an attempt to get to the fireplace to go to the residence of his agent on Privet Drive, Arabella Figg. Dumbledore looked at his potions master, this was not a man who would take a threat to the boy's safety lightly, and he wouldn't be sitting here, intent on talking if he didn't have a good reason. "Alright then Severus, you have my attention," Dumbledore said, shedding off the mask of the genial grandfather, replacing it with the shrewd politician The Headmaster settled back into his chair, Leveling his potions master a steady searching gaze. And so, Snape began his explanation. He told the Headmaster of Lillian Baratheon, the young heiress of a distant world. He told of how she was born with magic, of how the Gods of her world had sent her here for instruction, of the name she chose for herself, using the nickname her brothers had given her. He told of the friend she made, of how she had told him of all of this. He told the headmaster of the special ceremony they had held after Harry was born, naming him something completely different from the name the headmaster knew, and lastly, he told him of her visit to him this night. And the plans she had for her sons immediate future, and the deal that was made. And the instructions he was given. "And that is why I am here, Headmaster, to keep you from getting yourself obliterated by trying to do the wrong thing with the best possible intentions," Severus concluded his account. Dumbledore sat quietly for a time after he had finished, processing the information that one of his favorite students had had a very different background from the one he was told. Coming to grips with the fact he had left an innocent child to be neglected by an aunt that wasn't a relative at all, and of how the boy was going to be sent to a land that was much harder than the one in which he now lived. And how the innocent boy would likely return a very different man.

"You're sure of this, Severus?" Dumbledore asked, his voice reflecting his full one hundred and thirteen years. "Very, Headmaster, I was the only one other than Potter senior that she shared that part of her life with. No one could have known about her brothers. It was Lilly." Taking a deep breath, Dumbledore visibly relaxed. "Sit with me then, for a time, I fear I don't want to alone while his mother returns for a night from the afterlife to fix my mistakes," Dumbledore said, rising from his throne-like chair and crossing the room to a decanter of sherry against the wall. Pouring two glasses of the alcohol, he crossed back to his desk, handed one to Severus and returned to his seat. "To Henry Baratheon," he said, raising his glass, "May he have good fortune in his mothers land," Dumbledore said, taking a long drink from his glass of sherry, and turning his mind to the possibilities of what the boy might be like when he returned.


End file.
